Vienna, 19 September 2018

I welcome today’s Pyongyang Joint Declaration recognizing the continued progress being made in reducing military tensions and maintaining dialogue and communication between the two countries since the Panmunjom Declaration of April 2018. I also commend both sides for their commitment to cooperate closely in the process of pursuing complete denuclearization and ensure that the Korean Peninsula becomes free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threats. The CTBTO stands ready to contribute to the process of verifiable denuclearization if called upon by its Member States.

Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary, CTBTO

Background

The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions. The Treaty will enter into force once signed and ratified by the remaining eight nuclear technology holder countries: China, Egypt, the DPRK, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States.

A verification regime is being built to monitor compliance with the Treaty. Nearly 90 percent of the 337 facilities of the International Monitoring System (IMS) are already in place. The system swiftly, reliably and precisely detected all six DPRK declared nuclear tests. After the DPRK announced nuclear test on 12 February 2013, the CTBTO was the only organization to detect radioactivity attributable to the event.